Suspected killer of Russian pilot held in Turkey over different incident -report

ISTANBUL, April 1 (Reuters) - A man suspected of killing a
Russian pilot whose plane was shot down by a Turkish jet near
the Syrian border in November has been detained over an
unrelated incident, Turkey's Dogan news agency said on Friday.

Authorities arrested Alparslan Celik, a fighter with a
Turkish-backed Turkmen brigade opposing government forces in
northern Syria, in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir on Thursday
along with 13 other people.

His detention could be a step towards easing strained
relations with Russia, which had demanded Celik's arrest after
he publicly admitted being among a group of fighters who shot
the Russian pilot as he parachuted out of his stricken plane.

Moscow called the downing of the plane a pre-planned
provocation and retaliated with economic sanctions, also urging
Turkish authorities to try Celik and his associates for murder.

But Dogan cited police sources as saying they had no
information about claims that Celik killed the pilot and that
his detention was related to a previous conviction -- whose
nature the agency did not specify -- under which he was supposed
to serve 30 months in jail.

Izmir police were unable to provide further information
about Celik's arrest.

The agency said he was questioned by a prosecutor about his
alleged role in the Russian pilot's death, but his lawyer argued
the question was irrelevant as it was not related to the reason
for his arrest. It said Celik and the rest of the group had been
detained after police were called because they were carrying
weapons.

Attempts by Reuters on Friday to reach government officials
for comment were not successful.

Speaking to reporters near the Syrian village of Yamadi on
Nov. 24, the day the Russian jet was downed, Celik said he and
other fighters opened fire as the pilot and his navigator
parachuted to the ground.

Turkey says it shot down the jet in its air space after it
ignored repeated warnings. Russia says it was flying over Syria
and the strike was unprovoked.

(Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in Moscow; Reporting by
Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Nick Tattersall and John Stonestreet)